Dog Park

1998 Comedy

Former Kids In The Hall member Bruce McCulloch wrote and directed this comedy about the romantic tribulations of a group of Toronto twenty-somethings whose relationships with their dogs are more stable and long-lasting than their romances with people. Nice guy Andy (Luke Wilson) gets dumped by his girlfriend Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson) when she meets another man (Gordon Currie); worst of all, Cheryl also ends up with custody of Andy's dog. On the rebound, Andy meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge), the host of a children's TV show, but she's too obsessed with her dog Peanut to pay Andy much mind. Keiran (Kristin Lehman), on the other hand, is a bit too enthusiastic for Andy, leading to yet another short-lived relationship. Cheryl ends up taking her dog (formerly Andy's dog) to a pet psychiatrist (Mark McKinney) who thinks that her promiscuity may be traumatizing the pooch. Meanwhile, Bruce McCulloch and Janeane Garofalo are cast against type as Jeff and Jeri, Andy's cheerful and annoyingly romantic friends. Although it was completed in 1998, Dog Park's U.S. release was delayed until September 1999 due to the film's sale to New Line Cinema; as a result, Bruce McCulloch's directorial debut hit theaters only a month before the scheduled release of his second film, Superstar. more..

Director: Bruce McCulloch

Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Janeane Garofalo, Luke Wilson, Kathleen Robertson,Bruce McCulloch

Reviews

  • If McCulloch can draw this much humanity out of his actors, and do it in comedies with a deceptively easygoing poignancy, he's definitely a director to watch.

    Tom Keogh - Film.com

    19 January 2013

  • Half a good romantic comedy. Luke Wilson is the good half...The weak half is Natasha Henstridge.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • A romantic comedy with an adult sensibility, a film that avoids characters-as-caricatures (with one exception), and deftly mixes cynicism and hope.

    - The Boston Globe

    19 January 2013

  • This shambling romantic comedy...clings to a sensibility that's imperviously, uncompromisingly Canadian.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Odd yet thoughtful romantic comedy.

    Ken Fox - TV Guide

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Film - Directing

    Canadian Comedy Awards (2000)

     
  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

    Genie Awards (2000)